President Obama accepted Gen. John Allen's request to retire from the military Tuesday, instead of going forward with his nomination to be supreme commander of NATO. This means the Love Pentagon scandal has ended the careers of two very high-ranking national security officials. Allen's nomination was put on hold when it was discovered he'd exchanged a lot of emails with Jill Kelley, the woman who sparked the investigation that exposed an affairbetween now-ex CIA chief David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell. Allen was cleared of any misconduct in a Pentagon investigation, and his official reason for retiring is "so that he can address health issues within his family," Obama said in a statement. The Washington Post's Rajiv Chandrasekaran reports Allen's wife is seriously ill. Allen told the Post his decision was not influenced by the Pentagon investigation, but, Allen said of his wife, "The investigation took a toll on her."

Earlier this month, outgoing Defense Secretary said he met with Allen, and gave him this not-so-all-in advice: "My recommendation to him was: 'Take your time ... be with your family, think about what you need to do... I think your country will always find a way to make use of your great services, but you've got to make the decision as to what you want to do in the future."

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